Two friends attempt to bake their way through the Cake Bible.
Stop by to see the progress.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Daring Bakers January Challenge: Tuiles

Whew, just made it!Really. Just now, in about a half hour, I made these.

I didn't procrastinate this month so much as I kept waiting for inspiration. I hoped that Robb would come over and we would get back into our groove of Tuesday baking. I hoped that I would tackle so many projects in the early part of the month before the Spring semester began, including making the templates for these cookies.

I never did sort out the template situation- making some, finding some to buy? What shape? Also, how to shape and cool the things once done? I couldn't justify buying the cornets- cream horn molds or cannoli molds, even though I really wanted them. So I just made do this morning. I piped a bit and smeared it into a circle and tried to get it reasonably thin and even. I used little ramekins to shape them into cups. I will say that I didn't put a lot of love into this. The challenge for me was just getting it done well enough to take a photo. Done is done.

That said, these were pretty good. I made the savory version and made a tuna... mousse? No, better call it what it is- tuna salad. I fancied it up with spinach dip, capers, gherkins, toasted sesame seeds and Chinese chives. While rummaging around to find something, anything!, to make this more than a scoop of tuna salad, I remembered this jar of spicy red pepper. I think it's Polish. In any case, it's good, and spicy, and pretty. I colored some of the batter and put some polka dots on the tuiles, that turned into smears. I also piped stripes to make the pretty curls. The flavor of the tuiles was definitely enhanced by the spicy pepper, and it was quite compatible with the tuna.

Please check out the other DBers efforts. There are many wonderful and creative examples. There was a sweet option, but I chose the savory one below.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.

There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.

Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.*** This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.

When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.